Update of Wavecom’s Reply Document Regarding Amendment to Wavecom’s CEO Severance
21 Novembre 2008 - 7:58PM
Business Wire
Regulatory News: Pursuant to article 231-37 of the general rules of
the Autorit� des march�s financiers (the��AMF�), the present press
release provides additional elements to the information disclosed
by Wavecom (Paris:AVM) (NASDAQ:WVCM) under paragraph 5.10 of its
note in response to Gemalto�s tender offer approved by the AMF on
November 13, 2008 under number 08-238 (the �Reply Document�). Under
the recently adopted French TEPA law of August 21, 2007, in order
for Wavecom to honor the commitments made by the Company to its
chief executive officer with respect to a severance payment upon
his departure in certain circumstances set forth below after
February�22, 2009, Wavecom must (i) condition such payment on
meeting performance criteria and (ii) seek shareholder approval of
the criteria and the payment. Under the TEPA law, severance
commitments entered into prior to the adoption of the law must be
brought into compliance with the requirements of the law before
February 22, 2009. As disclosed in the Reply Document, according to
the service agreement entered into by Wavecom and Mr.�Ronald Black
for the performance of his duties as chief executive officer in
2004, as amended in 2006 (the �Service Agreement�), Wavecom has
undertaken to pay Mr.�Ronald Black a severance payment equal to
three time his annual fixed salary (except in case of gross or
wrongful misconduct) in the event of a negotiated merger,
acquisition of the Company, or hostile takeover bid on the shares
of the Company that results in Mr. Ronald Black being terminated
within six months following this event without being offered an
opportunity to perform functions of an equivalent level. After
hearing the findings presented by the Nomination and Compensation
Committee, the Board of Directors decided, on November 17, 2008, to
amend the terms and conditions of the Service Agreement and make
the severance payment contingent on performance criteria as
follows, each of which must be met at the time of Mr. Ronald
Black�s departure in order for his severance to be payable:
Wavecom�s activity having generated a greater net cash balance
(i.e., cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities less
long-term and short-term debt) at the time of Mr. Black�s departure
than such balance three years earlier (on the basis of the most
recent quarterly closing and excluding the effects of any
exceptional business expenditures, such as, for example, the
financing of an acquisition), and Wavecom having remained in the
top three leaders of its market, as recognized by any market
analyst (such as Gartner or ABI) in the three years preceding Mr.
Ronald Black�s departure from the Company. In addition, in order to
more properly reflect the mutual understanding of Mr. Ronald Black
and the Board of Directors as to the circumstances under which the
severance payment becomes payable, the Board approved an additional
amendment to the Service Agreement to provide that Mr. Ronald Black
is entitled to the severance payment described above if he resigns
within six months following a change in control of the Company. In
accordance with article L.225-42-1 of the French commercial code,
the Board of Directors also decided to submit these commitments for
approval by the shareholders� meeting to be held on December 8,
2008, it being specified that the severance commitment existing
before November 17, 2008 would remain in effect until February 22,
2009 in the event the shareholders� meeting were to disapprove the
amendments thereto. Therefore, if the proposed amendments to the
Service Agreement were not approved by the shareholders� meeting by
February 22, 2009, the commitments regarding Mr. Ronald Black�s
severance payment could be cancelled starting from February 22,
2009. Wavecom � the wireless M2M experts Wavecom is a leading
provider of embedded wireless technology for M2M
(machine-to-machine) communication. We provide a range of GSM/GPRS,
CDMA, EDGE and 3G Wireless CPUs; programmable processors which also
act as wireless modules or wireless modems. These are backed by a C
and Lua-based cellular wireless software suite which includes a
real-time operating system (RTOS), a software development
environment based on Eclipse�, and several Plug-Ins (GPS, TCP/IP,
security, Bluetooth�, Lua script and more). We also offer a wide
range of professional and operated services. Our solutions are used
for automotive telematics, smart metering, fleet management,
GSM/GPS/satellite tracking, wireless alarms, wireless POS (point of
sales), WLL (fixed voice), remote monitoring and many other M2M
applications. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in
Issy-les-Moulineaux (France) near Paris, Wavecom has subsidiaries
in Hong Kong (PRC), Research Triangle Park, NC (USA), Farnborough
(UK), Munich (Germany) and Sao Paolo (Brazil). Wavecom is publicly
traded on Euronext Paris (Eurolist) in France and on the NASDAQ
(WVCM) exchange in the U.S. http://www.wavecom.com This press
release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of
the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are not historical
facts. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of
Wavecom�s management as well as assumptions made by and information
currently available to them. Actual results may vary significantly
from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements based
on a variety of factors. Words such as "outlook," �potential,�
�emerging,� �growth�, "anticipates," "expects," "believes,"
"intends," "plans," "continuing," "seeks," "forecasts,"
"estimates," "goal," and similar expressions often identify such
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this
press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the
future of the M2M industry, the SIM card industry and other
industries, future economic and market conditions, the future
performance of Wavecom, the promise of Wavecom�s strategic
initiatives, Wavecom�s business pipeline, reaction of Wavecom�s
employees, customers, suppliers, contracting parties and other
stakeholders to events surrounding the Offer, projections and
assumptions underlying Wavecom�s financial analysis of its value
and the offer, and the future value of Wavecom�s tax assets. All
forward-looking statements are qualified by these cautionary
statements and are made only as of the date they are made.
Important factors that may cause such differences include, but are
not limited to, those described in Wavecom's Annual Report on Form
20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, in the sections
entitled �Item 3. Key Information � Risk Factors� and �Item 5.
Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.� Further risks and
uncertainties associated with Gemalto�s unsolicited proposal to
acquire Wavecom include: the risk that key employees may pursue
other employment opportunities due to concerns as to their
employment security with Wavecom; the risk that the acquisition
proposal will make it more difficult for Wavecom to execute its
strategic plan and pursue other strategic opportunities; the risk
that the future trading price of our common stock is likely to be
volatile and could be subject to wide price fluctuations; the risk
that Wavecom may be unable to secure superior value as a
stand-alone company or by pursuing other strategic alternatives;
and the risk that stockholder litigation in connection with the
Gemalto's unsolicited proposal, or otherwise, may result in
significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability. All
forward-looking statements are qualified by these cautionary
statements and are made only as of the date they are made. Wavecom
shareholders are urged to read Wavecom's �Note en r�ponse� and its
Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9, as
amended, as they contain important information. The �Note en
r�ponse� and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement and other
public filings made from time to time by the Company are available
without charge from, respectively, the AMF�s website at
www.amf-france.org or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, and at
www.wavecom.com.
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